Spring wheel



ug. 2l, 1923.

H. E. VOBACH SPRING WHEEL Filed Nov. 19, 1919 WINS."

Patented ug. 2l, 1923.

Laan-i1 HERMAN' E. VOBACH, OF litLDSiON,V WISCOSIN.

srnnve WHEEL.

' Application filed November 19, 1919. Serial No; 339,006.

T 0 all whom z' -m @y concern Be it known thatV l, HERMAN E. VoBAoH, avcitizen oi the United States, and resident of Madison, in the county otlDane and State of lgVisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Spring iVheels, of which the following is a description, reference bcing had to the accompanying drawings, which are apart of thisspecification.

My inventionrelates to certain new and useful improvements invehiclewheels. and has for its primary object to provide a ve hicle wheel soconstructed as to absorb any shocks imparted thereto as the same travelsthe grounds surface. i Y

Another object of this invention is'to pro# vide a vehicle wheel inwhich the spokes have their inner ends tangentially pivotally connectedwith the hub member and their outer ends pivotally connected with therim ment ber and so constructed as to be yieldably extensible orcontractible under stress vwhereby shocks imparted to the wheel will beabsorbed by all of the spoke members. Y

A further object of my invention is to provide a vehicle wheel embodyingtwo sets of yieldably contractible and extensible spokes having theirinner ends tangentially pivoted to the hub member andtheir outer ends`pivoted to the rim member, one set extending in one direction, andtheother set in another direction whereby-the same will yieldinglycounteract the action of the spokes of the diiferent sets.`

A further object ot the present inventionis to provide a vehicle wheelof the class described which vwill efficiently absorb shocks impartedthereto and which will beV compact in structure and neat in appearance.

Vith the above and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, myinvention resides'in the novel con struction,combination and arrangement of parts, substantially as hereinafterdescribed and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it beingunderstood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the hereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope ol the claims.

In the accompanying drawing I have il lustrated one complete example ofthe physical embodiment of my invention constructed according to thebest mode I have so far-levised for the practical application of theprinciples thereof, and in which.:

n Fig. 1 is a side-plan view ot a complete wheel embodying the featuresof my invention. A Y Fig. 2 isa sectional View through one of the spoke'securing members,.said view being taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 3. f

Fig. 3 a view,'part in section'iand part in elevation, of tworadjacentspokes of the sets, said view being taken on the 'plane indicated byline 3-3 of'Fig. 1, andv .earner f carica;

Fig. l vis a detail sectional view taken on `i the lined-At of Fig. 2;

Referring nowfmoreparticularly to i accompanying drawing, vthe Anumeral5 Yindicatesfa vehicle rim having a tire 6 mounted,

thereon; '7 a hub member having a pair of Vspaced plates 8 securedthereto; and 9 a plurality ofspokes, of novel construction, as'will behereinafter describedhaving their inner ends tangentially pivotallyconnected to the hub plates 8 by meansof .pivot bolts 10 and their outerends pivotallyconnected to the rim5 inspaced relation by means of spacedapart Vears, or lugs 11 between which T-heads 12V carried bv the-outerends ofthe spokes 9 are secured by"'pi'vots'13.V

, Asbest shown inFig. 3the spokes are arV ranged 'in two sets, one'setextending tan'f gentially from one Vplate 8 in one direction and theother set extending in an opposite.

direction from theotherplate 8*, each pivot bolt 10 providing the pivotfor-the' adjacent spokes of the two sets as best shown in Fig. In orderlthat the outer ends of the spokes ot Vboth sets may herdisposedcentrally with respect to the sides of therim 5, the'transverse bore 14of the inner end'l of a scour-i ing member 16 forming the inner' end ofeach spoke 9 is slightly inclined as best shown in Figs. 2 securingmembersl of the sets being in opand 4, the inclination of adjacentposite directions as will be obvious from y Fie. 8.

Fach securing member has its outer end centrally bored as at' 17 inwhichY bore the 1 inner end ot the spoke rod is slidably mounted, thespo-ke rod being slidably profV jected therein through a threaded cap 18closing the bore 17v .The portion of the' spoke rod disposed Within thebore 17 isjre-l duced as at 19 and has secured to the extreme inner' endthereof a knob or end 20 which is slidably disposed within a counterbore or recess 21 communicating with the bore 17, twol collars 22 and 23being slidably mounted upon the reduced portion 19 as best shown in Fig,2. V The collar 22 is normally urged to engage against the cap 18 andthe collar 23 is normally urged to engage against the shoulder formed atthe junction of the bore 17 and recess 21 by means of an eXtensilespring 2-1 disposed about the reduced portion 19 and having its endsengaged against the collar members.

By this structure it will be at once apparent that the springs 2-1 willnormally urge the parts to the'position depicted in Fig. 2 and that,when an inward pressure is exerted upon the spokerod, collarV 22 will bemoved inwardly by means or the shoulder formed between the spoke rod andreduced portion 19 and the spring- 2liv compressed between it and thecollar 23 which is held Y. stationary by the shoulder between the bore17 and recess 21. lVhen the spo-ke rod is moved outwardly the operationis exactly the reverse, as will be readily understood. In order thattheparts within the securing member 16 may be thoroughly lubricated Iprovide an oil opening communicating with the bore 17 and normallyclosed by a cap 25.

By the structure hereinber'ore described, when a. load is placed uponthe hub 7 all of the spokes will b-e moved from their normalk position,some being extended and others contracted and the adjacentspokes of thesets operating in opposite direct-ions to counteract the movementthereof and ett ficiently absorb any shocks imparted thereto.

means pivotally connecting the outer ends or" said spokes with the rimmember.

Y 2. fr vehicle wheel comp-rising a rim member; a hub member; pivotmeans carried by said hub member; pairs of socket members positionedside by side having their inner ends closed and curved laterally andprovided with aligned transverse bores, the walls of which engage saidpivot means, the axes of said bores making an acute an gle withthe axesor' the sockets, whereby said sockets may be inclined out of the ventical plane and be in alignment with the center of said rim member, thesocket members of each pair extending in opposite directions; spokemembers having their inner ends yieldably secured in said socket members; and means securing the outer end of said spoke members toI thecenter of said rim member in spaced relation.

3. A vehicle wheel comprising rim member, a1 hub member, two sets ofspoke receiving members, arranged in pairs, themembers of each pairextending tangentially from the hub member in opposite directions andhaving their inner ends tangentiallypivoted side by side to thehubmember by acommon pivot member, and their outer portions bored, a spokerod having its inner end slidably mounted within thebore of eachreceiving .membeig two collars slidably mounted on the portion of thespoke rod disposed within thereceiving bore, shoulders on said spoke rodfor limiting the movement of the innermost collar toward the inner endof the spoke rod, and the movement of the outermost collar towardl theouter end of the spoke' rod, an extensible spring coiled around eachspoke rod be- .tween the collars, and means in the bo-res of the.receiving members for engaging. the outer faces of the collars, wherebymovement of the spoke rods, with respect to the securing members, willbe yieldingly resisted by said springs. 1

In testimony whereoi' atti); my signature.

HERMAN E. VOBACH.-

